In a development that makes me marvel at the sheer resilience of legacy automaker Ford (F) investors, shares were up over 2.5% in Thursday afternoon’s trading. And these shares were up despite news of a new major, massive recall along with the disturbing revelation that the employee pricing plans of the “From America, For America” marketing plan might be swallowed up by new price hikes.
Ford brought out advance warning that the employee discount prices—despite the fact that they have had a fantastic effect on foot traffic into dealerships—may be about to get swallowed up by some new price hikes in June. There was a condition on that, though; if the tariffs remained in place, Ford noted to dealers, then the prices may be coming up to match.
Ford made it clear that the stuff already on the lot was going to remain as-is on pricing. Nothing “currently in inventory” would be subject to price hikes. However, “vehicle pricing adjustments” would be not only possible but likely, and that would come around starting “…with May production.” With some reports suggesting that car dealers are stepping back on new car orders anyway, this may not be such a problem for anyone but Ford.
Hefty Recall
And then we get to the recall, which is even worse for Ford, because this time the recall is about something downright crucial: brakes. Ford is recalling about 150,000 vehicles, mostly over a matter of brakes, though not every recalled car had trouble with its brakes, reports note. The recalls are mainly from 2017 and 2018 vehicles, specifically the F-150, the Expedition, and the Lincoln Navigator. The 2025 Explorer is also involved.
Most of the recalled vehicles—123,611 of them—are for a potential brake fluid leak. A brake without brake fluid is a major problem, and can reduce brake effectiveness to the point where a short stop is all but impossible. Meanwhile, 24,655 vehicles in the Explorer class found an issue with their powertrain control modules. Problems with this module can “…damage the park system or cause an engine stall.”
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, nine Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.96% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.46 per share implies 2.12% downside risk.
